This is the first nod for Desplechin, as the passionate Esther Kahn crowd was just a bit too small. (I doubt enough voters even saw My Sex Life way back in '97.)

Bana previously placed 3rd in the lead category for Chopper (2001) and 10th in the supporting category for Troy (2004). Ejiofor landed at #13 in 2003 for Dirty Pretty Things. And this is the first return appearance for Faye Wong (who I now realize is the same person as Faye Wang) since she finished 11th for Wong's Chung King Express in 1996. Berry is new.

No previous writing citations for Clooney or Heslov.

Also, I should note for newcomers that Park's other 2005 commercial release, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, was not eligible, having had its premiere prior to 1 Jan 2003. It did previously finish 2nd in the Undistributed poll, however, behind Hong Sang-soo's Turning Gate. (Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Pulse, which would almost certainly have placed here, was likewise ineligible; it won the Undistributed poll for the year 2001.)